Camper

Definition - What does Camper mean?

A camper is a video gamer who finds a strategic spot within a level and waits there for players, game-controlled enemies or choice items to appear. This strategy is known as camping.

Camping is most popular in first-person shooter (FPS) games, but depending on the game being played, it is usually considered a form of cheating, or at least a degenerative strategy. This is because if every single player follows a camping strategy, then there won't be any possibilities for players to confront each other, leaving no game to play. Some FPS games can be customized to employ a camping strategy where entire groups are dedicated to sniper-only challenges.

Techopedia explains Camper

There are two basic types of camping:

Spawn Point Camping: Spawn point campers wait at a point in the level map where a desirable object such as a weapon appears. In role-playing games, spawn point campers may also wait in areas where they know enemies will reappear, killing them quickly for easy experience points and money.

Snipers: In competitive first-person shooters, a camper finds an ideal vantage point where he or she can wait for players to wander into sight and be killed. A sniper usually camps out on high ground or an area that provides protection from other players circling behind.

Camping is most popular among shooter games, where the players hide themselves in a strategic spot for a very long time, thereby killing opponents and grabbing a tactical edge. The spot a camper chooses is usually hidden from casual view and perhaps partially or fully secured by an object. The campers then make use of this spot to ambush or perform sniper attacks on opponents. The time scale for camping may vary with different players or with the player's response to various game conditions. Some games do not encourage camping, forcing the campers who remain stationary for too long to move ahead, or applying strict penalties like small quantities of periodic health damage.

In a mixed playing environment where camping is frowned upon, bunny hopping (erratic jumping and running) becomes the usual response by players who are tired of being picked off by an unseen enemy.